To those of you who haven't given up (yet...), just a brief recap on a few of the events of the last week or so:
After crossing over to the South Island (the ferry was very nice - and I'm sure the other passengers was really excited to see me do Yoga; it just adds that much to the excitement of the ride), we drove west to Nelson. In itself, the city is nothing to write home about, and of course in the rain it is even less so, but I stuck around and finally managed to get a couple of days of sun in which I went for a couple of tours in Abel Tasman National Park. The first day was just an hour's cruise and a couple of hours walk, the second was a couple of hours kayaking (lots of fun) and a good 4 hour walk. The weather was really beautiful and the beaches were gorgeous. What can I say.
From Nelson we headed towards the west coast. The views along the way are stunning. We also stopped off in a couple of places for a few short walks. You always get the feeling that you're walking in the middle of a rain forest, and then, all of a sudden you're on a beach, and it's slightly gloomy and stormy and gray. But in a good way.
I've also run into several Israeli's since I've come down to the South Island. Mostly I don't look for them, but I'm (apparently) so readily identified, that people just come up and start talking Hebrew. For the most part I don't mind, although some of them still bring all the things I hate about Israeli travelers with them, which is REALLY annoying.
After Greymouth (which was mostly grey and not that interesting) we got to the Franz Joseph glacier. The hike up the glacier was a lot of fun - harder than it looks, but the views (on a good day) are really great. And I've also decided that Ice Talonz (the things you put on your boots to grip the ice) are the new Must Have Accessory for 2007.
After leaving Franz Joseph I stopped for a couple of nights in Wanaka, where I'd met the largest group of Israelis so far. I went with a couple of girls and a guy to the Cinema Paradiso - it's basically a cinema that sports lounge chairs, sofas, pillows and other unconventional seats instead of the regular cinema seats. In addition, they bake home-made cookies fresh from the oven, and make ice-cream. we just skipped the movie and went straight for the cookies and ice-cream. As we sat there, gradually more and more Israelis joined, until the whole place was speaking Hebrew. Which is funny, in a sad sort of way.
After a couple of days in Wanaka, I moved on to Queenstown. I'm really excited, since there are so many bungy sites I won't jump from here. I'm especially looking forward to not jumping from the Nevis.
I did meet up with a group of Irish guys and girls, who had been traveling with me on the Magic bus, and we went out for a few drinks and a bit of dancing. Queenstown, apparently, does indeed rock until the small hours of the night.
And with this I will leave you, till the next installment. Adios.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Crossing Tongariro
So, to continue my adventures:
The next day in Taupo (Tuesday) I went ahead with my plans to do the Tongariro Crossing, which is reputedly the best one-day walk in NZ. I met a couple of guys on the bus who were going to do it as well, and we decided to walk together. Monday was a beautiful day, all sunny and nice, and we were all excited to go.
I woke up at 5:30, cursing. The sky was looking a bit miserable, but hey - it always clears up in the end, no?
No. By the time the bus dropped us off at the base of the mountain, it had become even darker, all windy and wet. We decided to push ahead anyway, hoping it would clear up in the afternoon. The walk wasn't too bad in the beginning. We even traversed the steep part (called the Devil's Stairway) a bit ahead of schedule.
As we reached the first summit, we saw a group heading down, One of the women (a local) told us she'd done this maybe 15 times before, and if we think it's miserable down here, wait till we get to the top.
She was right - the walk up there was realy bad, with stong, cold winds and a lot of rain. The decptive part was that it wasn't hard rain (which would probably have turned us back) but a slow, steady drizzle that just seeped into everything.
Now would be a good time to point out that, thanks to some friends who helped me pack (Anat), I had a woolen hat, a scarf, gloves, a thermal undershirt.
It is therefore with great pleasure that I award myself the "Dumbass of the Year" award, for not taking the gear up the mountain with me. I mean, it takes a very special kind of stupidity to actually schlep all that stuff halfway around the world, and then leave it behind the only time it's actually needed, right?
On the flip side, I did at least take my double-sided fleece and my woolen hat, so I wasn't actually cold. My pants and boots did get soaked, but I was wearing walking socks, so I didn't get cold or any blisters. So that's alright.
Just to make things a bit worse - the wind kept blowing at us, and there's a good hours walk where you have little or no shelter. Of course, since it was so cloudy, we didn't actually get to see any of the views. We just kept on walking, and didn't stop because there was basically nothing to see but seas of mist and fog all around.
Think this is over? On the way down, something in my knee just gave. Soon I was limping, and at a certain point the pain was so bad, I had to stop and gasp. Luckily my Dutch friends were around, and one of them actually got out a band of medical tape and stabilized the knee. We then found a walking stick, and I continued doen the mountain, limping, cursing, and looking like Gandalf. Of course I slowed everyone down, but that's alright. We finally made it down, but it was slow and tiring. All in all, the day was worse than a waste - all I got for my efforts were two badly injured knees (yes - once one goes, you put all the pressure on the other one, and the over-compensation makes it buckle as well).
The next day we just headed down to Wellington, without much action - which was good, since I had to rest my leg. The pain was really bad.
After we arrived (at 4PM), we made a little dinner, and then rushed out to a night-time walk in the animal sanctuary. This was supposed to be a highlight - they have Kiwi birds and some other endangered species, and Kiwis only come out at night to feed. However, my luck held fast - not a bird was to be seen or heard in the whole goddamn compound. We heard a couple of Kakas (that's what they're called, true name), and the plaintive cry of the Morepork owl, but that was it.
I will not one good thing - spending a few days with the Dutchies (Reinier and Riana). At least I got to know some really nice people, and they've actually got me cooking, which is a feat in itself.
Other than that, I've spent the last couple of days in Wellington doing all the regular touristy stuff. You know - the Te Papa museum (really nice), House of Parliament (beautiful), a visit to the doctor (well, I had to have someone take a look at my leg). Traveling is FUN.
Crossing over to the South Island tomorrow. Hope all goes well (I could very well fall off the ferry). Wish me luck...
The next day in Taupo (Tuesday) I went ahead with my plans to do the Tongariro Crossing, which is reputedly the best one-day walk in NZ. I met a couple of guys on the bus who were going to do it as well, and we decided to walk together. Monday was a beautiful day, all sunny and nice, and we were all excited to go.
I woke up at 5:30, cursing. The sky was looking a bit miserable, but hey - it always clears up in the end, no?
No. By the time the bus dropped us off at the base of the mountain, it had become even darker, all windy and wet. We decided to push ahead anyway, hoping it would clear up in the afternoon. The walk wasn't too bad in the beginning. We even traversed the steep part (called the Devil's Stairway) a bit ahead of schedule.
As we reached the first summit, we saw a group heading down, One of the women (a local) told us she'd done this maybe 15 times before, and if we think it's miserable down here, wait till we get to the top.
She was right - the walk up there was realy bad, with stong, cold winds and a lot of rain. The decptive part was that it wasn't hard rain (which would probably have turned us back) but a slow, steady drizzle that just seeped into everything.
Now would be a good time to point out that, thanks to some friends who helped me pack (Anat), I had a woolen hat, a scarf, gloves, a thermal undershirt.
It is therefore with great pleasure that I award myself the "Dumbass of the Year" award, for not taking the gear up the mountain with me. I mean, it takes a very special kind of stupidity to actually schlep all that stuff halfway around the world, and then leave it behind the only time it's actually needed, right?
On the flip side, I did at least take my double-sided fleece and my woolen hat, so I wasn't actually cold. My pants and boots did get soaked, but I was wearing walking socks, so I didn't get cold or any blisters. So that's alright.
Just to make things a bit worse - the wind kept blowing at us, and there's a good hours walk where you have little or no shelter. Of course, since it was so cloudy, we didn't actually get to see any of the views. We just kept on walking, and didn't stop because there was basically nothing to see but seas of mist and fog all around.
Think this is over? On the way down, something in my knee just gave. Soon I was limping, and at a certain point the pain was so bad, I had to stop and gasp. Luckily my Dutch friends were around, and one of them actually got out a band of medical tape and stabilized the knee. We then found a walking stick, and I continued doen the mountain, limping, cursing, and looking like Gandalf. Of course I slowed everyone down, but that's alright. We finally made it down, but it was slow and tiring. All in all, the day was worse than a waste - all I got for my efforts were two badly injured knees (yes - once one goes, you put all the pressure on the other one, and the over-compensation makes it buckle as well).
The next day we just headed down to Wellington, without much action - which was good, since I had to rest my leg. The pain was really bad.
After we arrived (at 4PM), we made a little dinner, and then rushed out to a night-time walk in the animal sanctuary. This was supposed to be a highlight - they have Kiwi birds and some other endangered species, and Kiwis only come out at night to feed. However, my luck held fast - not a bird was to be seen or heard in the whole goddamn compound. We heard a couple of Kakas (that's what they're called, true name), and the plaintive cry of the Morepork owl, but that was it.
I will not one good thing - spending a few days with the Dutchies (Reinier and Riana). At least I got to know some really nice people, and they've actually got me cooking, which is a feat in itself.
Other than that, I've spent the last couple of days in Wellington doing all the regular touristy stuff. You know - the Te Papa museum (really nice), House of Parliament (beautiful), a visit to the doctor (well, I had to have someone take a look at my leg). Traveling is FUN.
Crossing over to the South Island tomorrow. Hope all goes well (I could very well fall off the ferry). Wish me luck...
Waitomo, or why bother?
January 22nd is known in New Zealand by the Maori name of Wata Kaka Chika Day, loosely translated as "The day Moshe went chicken-shit and didn't bungy jump". In all honesty, I have a real fear of heights, which I've tackeled magnificently over the years by going limp and clinging to the rail even when I'm on the roof of my parents' building (4 stories). What can I do. Man of steel or man of squeal? You figure it out.
So let me recap the events of the last week or so - I may as well, since I'm not going anywhere.
In Waitomo, I went on a black-water adventure - TumuTumu Toobing (http://www.waitomo.co.nz/tumutumu.html), which was quite good - lots of fun with the glowworms in the cave, really nice walking in the water underground, and a hot instructor to boot.
The next day, I went for a bit of a walk in the area - some really good walking trails there. And finally, I got onthe Magic bus, on the way to Rotorua, and actually met some nice people.
I didn't stay long in Rotorua - I was anxious to get to Taupo. That was on the day of the 22nd (Monday). The drive was really nice - met some really nice people, and the driver stopped off in a couple of places I would never have gotten around to - Huka Falls, for example, and Rock N Ropes (http://www.rocknropes.co.nz/). The idea is to tie up ropes a long way up, and then have you scramble up and down the poles and try not to fall off and die. We didn't have much time, so we could choose only from two activities - the Giant Swing, and the Trapeze (which isn't on the site for some reasons, but you can get a view of it).
I chose to do the trapeze. The guys who did the Giant Swing climbed up a pole onto a big platform several meters up. From there you grabbed hold of a rope, and then you jump off and swing down. It's a pretty steep swing. The Trapeze is a little different. I climbed up a 12 meter pole, only to discover that at the top there's - nothing. Only the top of the pole, which is, oh, let's say 30 cm in diameter. I kid you not. The damn pole is swinging in the breeze, and I'm supposed to stand on it. Don't know how, but I managed. Ahead was the trapeze. Believe it or not, after standing on the pole, it was actually less scary to jump - which I did, and caught it. The last part was to let go of the trapeze, and have the instructor adjust the rope so you didn't fall too fast. He didn't. Imagine how much fun that was.
We left that place and proceeded to the bungy area in Taupo - some people got off to do the skydiving, I wanted to bungy. Unfortunately, I stupidly went ahead and looked at the platform. And then I looked down.
And down.
And down.
When I finally saw the rocks at the bottom, I decided it would maybe be a good idea to step away carefully. Needless to say, no jumping. I comforted myself in the fact that there's still Queenstown to go - where the winds are mighty, and the bungy is ever higher...
I'll continue my adventures in a separate post - this one's getting a bit long.
So let me recap the events of the last week or so - I may as well, since I'm not going anywhere.
In Waitomo, I went on a black-water adventure - TumuTumu Toobing (http://www.waitomo.co.nz/tumutumu.html), which was quite good - lots of fun with the glowworms in the cave, really nice walking in the water underground, and a hot instructor to boot.
The next day, I went for a bit of a walk in the area - some really good walking trails there. And finally, I got onthe Magic bus, on the way to Rotorua, and actually met some nice people.
I didn't stay long in Rotorua - I was anxious to get to Taupo. That was on the day of the 22nd (Monday). The drive was really nice - met some really nice people, and the driver stopped off in a couple of places I would never have gotten around to - Huka Falls, for example, and Rock N Ropes (http://www.rocknropes.co.nz/). The idea is to tie up ropes a long way up, and then have you scramble up and down the poles and try not to fall off and die. We didn't have much time, so we could choose only from two activities - the Giant Swing, and the Trapeze (which isn't on the site for some reasons, but you can get a view of it).
I chose to do the trapeze. The guys who did the Giant Swing climbed up a pole onto a big platform several meters up. From there you grabbed hold of a rope, and then you jump off and swing down. It's a pretty steep swing. The Trapeze is a little different. I climbed up a 12 meter pole, only to discover that at the top there's - nothing. Only the top of the pole, which is, oh, let's say 30 cm in diameter. I kid you not. The damn pole is swinging in the breeze, and I'm supposed to stand on it. Don't know how, but I managed. Ahead was the trapeze. Believe it or not, after standing on the pole, it was actually less scary to jump - which I did, and caught it. The last part was to let go of the trapeze, and have the instructor adjust the rope so you didn't fall too fast. He didn't. Imagine how much fun that was.
We left that place and proceeded to the bungy area in Taupo - some people got off to do the skydiving, I wanted to bungy. Unfortunately, I stupidly went ahead and looked at the platform. And then I looked down.
And down.
And down.
When I finally saw the rocks at the bottom, I decided it would maybe be a good idea to step away carefully. Needless to say, no jumping. I comforted myself in the fact that there's still Queenstown to go - where the winds are mighty, and the bungy is ever higher...
I'll continue my adventures in a separate post - this one's getting a bit long.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Me against NZ
Right, so this turned out as a wonderful day. I was up early, had a brisk walk to the bus stop, the sun was shining, the waterfront was beautiful, the birds were singing. I got to the bus ahead of time, which left me plenty of time to put down my backpack straight into a huge uddle of guano, more colloquialy known as birdshit.
Yes. True story. Does it make it any more comforting to know that, in true backpacker style, I had latched my fleece onto the front of my bag, and it got covered in ... well you get the picture. Anyway, thus started my day of horror - a four hour ride into Auckland, change bus to the bus to Hamilton. Get off bus, dash madly into information office, by (very lucky) chance gt a ticket rom Hamilton to Otorohanga (and can you imagine the fun we had, me and the locals,as I tried to pronounce the name?), and from the just a quick shuttle ride to Waitomo. All told, about 8 or 9 hours on the bus.
There was only one thing I could do at this stage.
I simply HAD to do the laundry.
No, seriously. You belittle the healing powers of a good laundry session. I swear, once I had the clothes in motion, the jacket (thankfully) clean and the machine going, I could finaly let go.
But let me recap on the last couple of days. Auckland was nice but slightly boring - I did a nice walk up to Mount Eden, all through the city and back. I visited the Auckland museum on the way, and even went to the corny "Maori Show". Even the actors looked bored, but whatever. The Volcano exhibition (which patiently describes how we're all going to die of volcano eruptions before global warming gets a stab at it) was more interesting. Other than that, the city itself is rather small and rather dull.
I continued the next day to the Bay of Islands in the North. It's very beautiful - not just the islands but also the beaches and the birds. I also made a brisk 3 KM walk to the Waitangi house, where the first treaty between the Brittish government and the Maori people was signed. The museum was actually interesting. As a bonus, my finger blistered after the long walk, so I got to limp into town all the way back. Beautiful.
The next day I booked a fast boat ride to the famous Hole in the Rock. The ride was, of course, cancelled. So I took a tour boat, only I hadn't realized it was raining and cold, and anyway I came prepared for the fast ride (i.e. shorts and crocs), so I had the pleasure of freezing during a sx hour boat ride. Which was not bad. Well, actually, not as bad as the seasickness. Have I mentioned I hate boats?
But - if we put aside all the things that could go wrong and DID go wrong - the place is really beautiful. And the history o it is actually interesting. So there IS a silver lining to each cloud.
Almost forgot - met two very young and very beautiful Dutch girls, and we had a lot of fun watching The Bridget Jones Diaries (part II) together. Who said traveling isn't fun?
So now I'm actually in the hostel in Waitomo, and I've booked the rides for tomorrow, and am going to go to bed very tired ut also very frustrated.
Gotta go - laundry calls. And the damn computer won't download my photos - sorry...
Kisses to all,
M.
Yes. True story. Does it make it any more comforting to know that, in true backpacker style, I had latched my fleece onto the front of my bag, and it got covered in ... well you get the picture. Anyway, thus started my day of horror - a four hour ride into Auckland, change bus to the bus to Hamilton. Get off bus, dash madly into information office, by (very lucky) chance gt a ticket rom Hamilton to Otorohanga (and can you imagine the fun we had, me and the locals,as I tried to pronounce the name?), and from the just a quick shuttle ride to Waitomo. All told, about 8 or 9 hours on the bus.
There was only one thing I could do at this stage.
I simply HAD to do the laundry.
No, seriously. You belittle the healing powers of a good laundry session. I swear, once I had the clothes in motion, the jacket (thankfully) clean and the machine going, I could finaly let go.
But let me recap on the last couple of days. Auckland was nice but slightly boring - I did a nice walk up to Mount Eden, all through the city and back. I visited the Auckland museum on the way, and even went to the corny "Maori Show". Even the actors looked bored, but whatever. The Volcano exhibition (which patiently describes how we're all going to die of volcano eruptions before global warming gets a stab at it) was more interesting. Other than that, the city itself is rather small and rather dull.
I continued the next day to the Bay of Islands in the North. It's very beautiful - not just the islands but also the beaches and the birds. I also made a brisk 3 KM walk to the Waitangi house, where the first treaty between the Brittish government and the Maori people was signed. The museum was actually interesting. As a bonus, my finger blistered after the long walk, so I got to limp into town all the way back. Beautiful.
The next day I booked a fast boat ride to the famous Hole in the Rock. The ride was, of course, cancelled. So I took a tour boat, only I hadn't realized it was raining and cold, and anyway I came prepared for the fast ride (i.e. shorts and crocs), so I had the pleasure of freezing during a sx hour boat ride. Which was not bad. Well, actually, not as bad as the seasickness. Have I mentioned I hate boats?
But - if we put aside all the things that could go wrong and DID go wrong - the place is really beautiful. And the history o it is actually interesting. So there IS a silver lining to each cloud.
Almost forgot - met two very young and very beautiful Dutch girls, and we had a lot of fun watching The Bridget Jones Diaries (part II) together. Who said traveling isn't fun?
So now I'm actually in the hostel in Waitomo, and I've booked the rides for tomorrow, and am going to go to bed very tired ut also very frustrated.
Gotta go - laundry calls. And the damn computer won't download my photos - sorry...
Kisses to all,
M.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Hello Again
Hello again,
I've just arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. A mere three hour flight from Sydney. Obviously, I don't have that much to tell about NZ itself, but I can recap on the last few days in Sydney.
Like I wrote last time, Friday was pretty lazy. A bit of internet, some reading, some beach and home. The beach was less exciting than expected, because - apparently - everywhere I go I bring the weather with me. That it to stay, there was a bit of a storm, with high winds and some rain.
After the Shabbess dinner (Oy, the shabbess) I went out to check the local scene. Apparently the gays of Sydney also follow the Shabbess, as there weren't that many people out and about. It's not that it was empty, just, well, slightly disappointing (and now I KNOW I'm going to get comments on this post!). But read on...
I've just arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. A mere three hour flight from Sydney. Obviously, I don't have that much to tell about NZ itself, but I can recap on the last few days in Sydney.
Like I wrote last time, Friday was pretty lazy. A bit of internet, some reading, some beach and home. The beach was less exciting than expected, because - apparently - everywhere I go I bring the weather with me. That it to stay, there was a bit of a storm, with high winds and some rain.
After the Shabbess dinner (Oy, the shabbess) I went out to check the local scene. Apparently the gays of Sydney also follow the Shabbess, as there weren't that many people out and about. It's not that it was empty, just, well, slightly disappointing (and now I KNOW I'm going to get comments on this post!). But read on...
Saturday was a nicer day, and I decided to do what I really came for - a ballet class. The Sydney Dance Company has studios down by Circular Quay (on the wharf), and they give classes. Unfortunately, since I woke up much later than intended, I made it to the beginners. The teacher was very nice, but the place was crowded, and it was a little slower than necessary. The really great part was after class, when the teacher came up to me and asked me how the class was - was it too easy? and we started talking. When I mentioned I was from Israel, he asked (all serious) whether I was with Bat-Sheva (they just opened the Sydney Festival with Telophasa and a couple of other pieces - checkout http://www.batsheva.co.il/site/). I still can't figure out whether he was complimenting me or insulting them...
Later on I took the ferry to Manly (don't you just love that name?), which is lovely (in a calm, boring sort of way). The ferry ride itself was interesting - the view is indeed spectacular.
After I returned, I went to a party with Jack, a friend of a friend who lives in Sydney. This was a birthday party for a girl-friend of his, and I got to meet a cool bunch of people from the Australian Film Commission and some other friends. Some people were dressed as robots, since it was a robot-theme-birthday-party. (This involved lots of aluminium foil. Don't try this at home). This was in Surry Hills, just behind Oxford St., so on the way back I saw that I was wrong - there is a nightlife scene in Sydney, but it's on Saturday night ... I'll have to check it out when I come back (and what can you do?).
The reason I headed home relatively early was that on Sunday my brother and I booked a surfing lesson. And since I can't resist, I will say - the sea was rough that day, my friends. It started with about an hour ride to one of the more secluded beaches. We then suited up and dragged the surfboards to the beach. It's harder than it looks, and these were the heavy learners' boards. A bit of theory on the sand (which makes it look really easy - did you know you actually do Yoga poses to stand on the board?), and then into the water. Since I have that luck with weather, we experienced a particularly cold stream,which means the water was 17C rather than the normal 22-23C. Or in professional terms - it was fucking cold. and for some reason (jetlag?) I was really affected by it - after the first dip in, I started literally shaking and couldn't stop. So for the rest of the day, I was in and out of the water, while the rest were enjoying their lessons and practicing. Well- enjoying is pushing it. In truth, it's really hard to even paddle inside, deep enough to catch waves. In case you were wondering why the beach bums and surfers are so muscular - it's just from trying to paddle in... But to be honest - the conditions weren't great (wave-wise) and I was frickin' cold, so I think I'm going to try again under more hospitable conditions.
Oh, and just because I was cold doesn't mean I didn't get burned. I mean REALLY burned. Anywhere and everywhere. And I did put on sunscreen, but not on the bottom side of my soles :(
Sorry about the lack of pictures again - I keep forgetting to schlep the camera cord to the internet cafe... I will try to remember next time. Kisses for now.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Hello and shalom
Hi all,
It took a couple of days, but I'm up and running and all ready to share (which means, as usual, that I talk and you listen).
A little bit about the last few days: I flew out to Hong Kong on Sunday evening. I arrived on Monday afternoon, and went out to the city with a couple of Israeli guys I'd met at the airport. They'r etraveling to NZ as well, but had a longer layover in HK. After seeing their backpacker accomodations (or dog kennels, I'm not really sure) I was very happy I got to fly out the very same day.
The flight to Sydney was harrowing, despite an hour or so of Yoga at the airport (legs in the air, upward dog, downward dog - the whole schmere). By the time we landed (on Tuesday) I was exhausted. My brother picked me up at the airport, and I remember very little of the ride in to the city.
After a couple of hours of sleep, we went for a walk around the city - Hyde Park, the Opera House - a good 2-3 hours. The wildlife is beautiful - and I'm referring, of course, to the dozen of gorgeous guys jogging around shirtless (and without a leash).
Wednesday was all about sight-seeing Sydney. Some very nice places around the harbour, and I had a couple of interesting experiences with the local birds. The first was when I was eating a sandwich down by the harbour. I put one half down for a moment. Next thing I know, I'm Tippy Hedren in "The Birds". Seagulls by the dozen landed next to me, with the cheekier ones pecking at the sandwich. When I shooed them away, they started barking like dogs. Wierd.
Later, while stopping for a drink at the cafeteria in the New South Wales Art Gallery, I saw two parakeets land on a table, rip open a bag of sugar (brown, mind you) and guzzle it up. Absolutely no manners.
I finished with a bit of lying down on the beach - my brother lives in Bondi, not 5 minutes away from Bondi Beach. Needless to say, I had already been sunburnt walking around, and this didn't help.
On Thursday, my brother and I went traipsing around the Blue Mountains. A two hour train ride to Katoomba brought us to the area. From there we did a bit of travel on a bus, a bit of cable car rides over the scenic places, and a lot of walking. The views are indeed beautiful, although my brother insisted that Katoomba looks just like Zichron.
Which brings us to Friday (today) which I'm devoting to doing nothing - some email, some planning ahead to NZ (booking rooms etc.). Sorry for the lack of pictures at the moment - I forgot to bring the camera to the internet cafe, and I'm heading down to the beach afterward anyway...
Enjoy, and I will add more as soon as I have anything interesting :)
It took a couple of days, but I'm up and running and all ready to share (which means, as usual, that I talk and you listen).
A little bit about the last few days: I flew out to Hong Kong on Sunday evening. I arrived on Monday afternoon, and went out to the city with a couple of Israeli guys I'd met at the airport. They'r etraveling to NZ as well, but had a longer layover in HK. After seeing their backpacker accomodations (or dog kennels, I'm not really sure) I was very happy I got to fly out the very same day.
The flight to Sydney was harrowing, despite an hour or so of Yoga at the airport (legs in the air, upward dog, downward dog - the whole schmere). By the time we landed (on Tuesday) I was exhausted. My brother picked me up at the airport, and I remember very little of the ride in to the city.
After a couple of hours of sleep, we went for a walk around the city - Hyde Park, the Opera House - a good 2-3 hours. The wildlife is beautiful - and I'm referring, of course, to the dozen of gorgeous guys jogging around shirtless (and without a leash).
Wednesday was all about sight-seeing Sydney. Some very nice places around the harbour, and I had a couple of interesting experiences with the local birds. The first was when I was eating a sandwich down by the harbour. I put one half down for a moment. Next thing I know, I'm Tippy Hedren in "The Birds". Seagulls by the dozen landed next to me, with the cheekier ones pecking at the sandwich. When I shooed them away, they started barking like dogs. Wierd.
Later, while stopping for a drink at the cafeteria in the New South Wales Art Gallery, I saw two parakeets land on a table, rip open a bag of sugar (brown, mind you) and guzzle it up. Absolutely no manners.
I finished with a bit of lying down on the beach - my brother lives in Bondi, not 5 minutes away from Bondi Beach. Needless to say, I had already been sunburnt walking around, and this didn't help.
On Thursday, my brother and I went traipsing around the Blue Mountains. A two hour train ride to Katoomba brought us to the area. From there we did a bit of travel on a bus, a bit of cable car rides over the scenic places, and a lot of walking. The views are indeed beautiful, although my brother insisted that Katoomba looks just like Zichron.
Which brings us to Friday (today) which I'm devoting to doing nothing - some email, some planning ahead to NZ (booking rooms etc.). Sorry for the lack of pictures at the moment - I forgot to bring the camera to the internet cafe, and I'm heading down to the beach afterward anyway...
Enjoy, and I will add more as soon as I have anything interesting :)
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